“Why are you out here alone?” she asked in the most soothing soft voice Kathleen had ever heard. Her mother’s hand landed on the seat beside Kathleen, but she didn’t touch her daughter.
Kathleen was thankful for her mom’s ability to sense the need for space.
“Talk to me, sweetie. Tell me what happened? You’re shivering.” She took a deep breath. “I know you mated with Gabriel. I saw you with him when I came to look for you. You were heading back to his house. I’m so happy for you. Should I not be?”
Kathleen shook her head. “I’m fine. Just needed some space,” she muttered, hoping her explanation would be sufficient.
“That’s . . . unconventional you know. Once you’re claimed, it’s not easy to walk away. Did he hurt you?”
Kathleen shook her head again, more forcefully this time. “Of course not.” Not physically. I’m more worried about what he might do to me mentally over time if I give him that opportunity. Already, she was lost in a vortex that allowed her no other thoughts except those that were about him. His scent, his lips, his deep blue eyes that reminded her of the sea.
“Do you need me to go find him?”
“No,” she blurted. “Please, Mom. Can’t you just let it go? I need to sleep on it.”
There was a pause before she spoke again. “I doubt you’ll be able to do that. Nor will he. Newly mated couples don’t separate, Kathleen. The draw is too strong.” She paused again. “If there’s some reason why you shouldn’t be mated to him, I need you to tell me. If not, we’ll take you home and let you figure it out if that’s what you want to do.”
“I’m just so young and inexperienced. He . . . isn’t. I need a good night’s sleep in my own bed before I make a decision.”
Her mother chuckled. “Okay. . ." Her voice trailed off. “You can give it a shot.” She climbed out of the car and moments later all three other doors opened. Her sister took the seat next to her, her father and mother in front. No one said a word. By silent agreement, they gave her a mile of leeway. She was never more relieved of anything in her life.
As soon as they pulled into the driveway, Kathleen bolted from the car and headed straight for her room. She shut the door and stood in the middle of the floor turning in a slow circle. The world as she’d known it twelve hours ago ceased to exist. She didn’t see anything the same as she had this morning.
Her childhood room wasn’t a baby’s room. It wasn’t that. She was a grown woman and had updated her space recently to reflect that, but nevertheless she felt out of place here, as though she no longer belonged.
She shuffled to her desk and fingered the stack of papers neatly lying in the center. Applications for jobs. Her acceptance letter that had just come in the mail days ago saying a position was available for her this fall at Kings Elementary teaching second grade.
She’d been so excited. Now? Could she even take the job?
She plopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling fan as it whirled in a slow circle to circulate the air.
Visualizing herself in the life she’d known yesterday was difficult. She’d graduated from college weeks ago, finishing her student teaching requirements before most of her classmates were done with school.
What if she threw it all away and left town with Gabriel Albertson? How long before she didn’t recognize herself anymore? How quickly would he transform her into someone she didn’t want to be? She shuddered. She’d never visualized herself as someone who would allow themselves to be manipulated by another. She was stronger than that. Wasn’t she?
A knock at the door made her cringe. A moment later, her mother walked in and sat on the edge of the bed. “You want to talk about it?”
“No.” What was she supposed to tell her mother? She’d already fretted over this problem in the car.
“I am mated, you know. I might be able to help.”
Kathleen glanced over to see her mother’s wry smile.
“I know he already claimed you, honey. It’s done. Sex can be . . . difficult the first time. Is that what’s worrying you?”
She so didn’t want a lecture about sex from her mother. She groaned and rolled away from her to face the wall.
“Was he too rough? Sometimes men, especially wolves under the mating influence, can be less than perfect when they claim their mates. It doesn’t mean it will always be that way.” Her mother patted her back.
Kathleen stiffened. Her mother had no idea how close she’d come to the truth.
“Instincts are powerful weapons in the mating game, Kathleen.”
“That’s an understatement,” she muttered before she could stop herself.
“Ah.” Her mother continued to rub Kathleen’s back with her soft hand. Several minutes went by.
“Was Daddy ever. . ." She swallowed. She wanted to know if others were like Gabriel, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask the question. She rolled over to look at her mother. Who else was she going to ask the questions she needed the answers to?
“Overpowering?” Her mother raised her eyebrows in question.
“I guess.” That wasn’t quite it, but . . .
“Demanding? Forceful? Dominant?” Her mother’s words were getting closer to the truth. Maybe she wasn’t alone.
Kathleen nodded. Other wolves were this way? She wasn’t alone?
“Sometimes. Your father isn’t a very dominant man, but lots of men are. Especially shifters. There are a lot of humans, though, that experiment in the world of domination also. Am I reading you correctly now?”
Kathleen nodded. She would have choked if she’d attempted to swallow.
“Some people and or wolves like to role play a bit in the bedroom. It can be very powerful to let your partner command your body’s responses. It doesn’t make the other partner weak. You actually have to have a very strong personality to give up control to another. It can even bring the two parties closer together.”
Kathleen held her breath and stared at her mother. She scrunched her forehead. The woman didn’t quite get her dilemma. “What if they assume that role permanently?” She laid all her cards out on the table. To hell with it. What did she have to lose?
“Well, that depends. On a lot of factors. Most importantly, almost anything is acceptable as long as both parties agree. A dominant person might operate on any of several different levels. Anywhere from occasional role-playing to demanding complete submissiveness in the bedroom to expecting total submission twenty-four seven, even out in public. The question is how does that mesh with that person’s mate? It’s rather unlikely that fate would align two wolves together that would be unable to agree to the terms of the arrangement.
“Just because Gabriel might have been overpowering the first time he claimed you, doesn’t mean he always will be. And, if he is, you need to talk to him about it. Negotiate. Come to an agreement you can both live with.” Her mother smiled warmly.
The suggested negotiation was the part Kathleen hadn’t considered. Gabe didn’t seem like the kind of guy one would negotiate with. Did he expect her compliance outside the bedroom? Or just when they had sex? She wasn’t sure. He’d said he was demanding in bed. He’d warned her. And he’d made her body hum.
The reality was they had no other experiences to compare to yet. She had no idea how he might treat her in public. She was afraid to find out.
“Kathleen, what you really need to ask yourself is how he makes you feel? If you felt belittled and used, that’s not good. If you felt sexy and loved, you can build on that.”
She certainly felt sexy and loved. There was no doubt about that. She’d just thought there was something wrong with her for enjoying his domination.
She questioned her sanity.
“I’m going to leave you alone to think, but if you need me, just let me know. Okay?”
Kathleen nodded again and rolled back toward the wall.
As her mother closed the door behind her with a soft snick, Kathleen envisioned her day with Gabe. She missed his presence already. Sh
e loved his warmth against her skin.
She closed her eyes and tried to breathe slow and easy to gain some sort of control so she could think. She needed a list of pros and cons. Hell, she needed to have a long heart to heart with her mate and air out her concerns. Would he be open to that? Or would he shut her down and tell her as the Dominant wolf he was, she could keep her opinions to herself?
She shivered at the possibility.
Gabriel paced the kitchen floor after Kathleen left until his legs ached and the floor surely had a rut worn into it.
As the evening light waned and the weekend visitors dispersed, his parents stepped into the kitchen through the back door.
“Gabe.” His mother sounded startled. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting.” Essentially that was as true as it got.
“For what?” his father asked.
“For my mate to think.” He ran his hands through his hair and stopped strutting across the floor.
“She left?” His mother looked around.
“Yep.”
“What’d you do to her?” His father’s words would have cut to the quick if he hadn’t said them in a teasing lilt.
“I might have pushed her too hard too fast.” That was the truth of it. Could he repair the damage?
“Why are you standing here in the kitchen then?” His father patted him on the back. “Shouldn’t you be at her house making nice?”
Gabriel glared at the man. “She needed time and space. That’s what I’m giving her.”
“Or maybe,” his mother added, “she needs explanations and details.” She sighed. “I’ve seen you in action over the years, Gabriel. I know you’re a bit dominant, if not a lot. If you dumped too much of that on her plate all in one day, I’m not surprised she ran scared.
“Go to her. Talk to her. Don’t make her feel like she’s going to become a slave to your every whim. You need a balance. It’s different when you’re just dating a girl you aren’t going to marry. When it’s the woman you’re claiming, you need to ensure her emotional needs are all met all the time.”
Damn his mother’s wisdom. Perhaps he hadn’t been clear with Kathleen. He might have made her feel like she was always going to be under his thumb, expected to bow to his bidding for the rest of her life.
All he’d meant to instill in her was a sense that he would make her body hum with need often and with great passion. In pushing her body to respond in ways he knew she could, had he worried her into believing he would be demanding to her at all times?
That hadn’t been his intention.
His mother was right about one thing. He needed to go to her. It wasn’t as though he would be able to relax or sleep again in this lifetime without holding her in his arms. Whatever he needed to do to make amends and ensure his sweet mate’s needs were met, he needed to buck up and do it now. She was his, even if he had to bury his dominant nature to keep her.
After just a few hours without her, he ached. Not just his cock, but his chest. He’d fallen for her hard. Visions of her face as she came apart in his arms flooded his memory.
He needed to see that expression again, today and every day until he died. No matter what the cost.
He didn’t say another word. He just grabbed his keys off the back hook and walked out the door.
Thank God he was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and shoes. Otherwise, he’d have been greeting her family in whatever attire he’d had on because changing was the last thing on his mind.
It took less than fifteen minutes to make the drive to Kathleen’s house. It shouldn’t have, but it did.
He stood nervously at her front door after knocking, totally unprepared to face her parents. What had she told them? What if they were pissed at him?
He stuffed his hands in his pockets to keep from fidgeting. It was so unnerving being out of his element. He’d always been in control of nearly every situation in his life. This tiny sprite of a mate of his had turned his world upside down and shaken it for good measure.
And he was determined to ensure she continued to do so for the next eighty years.
When the door opened, he was faced with both of Kathleen’s parents. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
“Gabriel. Come in,” her mother said.
Relief flooded him. She knew who he was and she didn’t appear to be ready to shoot him. A glance at her father indicated a similar attitude from him. Two points.
Her father extended a hand. “Todd Davis. This is my wife, Carina.”
“Nice to meet you, sir. Ma’am.” He took Todd’s hand and nodded at Carina.
“Please. Have a seat.” Carina motioned toward the couch. “I’ll get Kathleen for you. Or would you just like to go up and find her yourself?”
“No.” He shook his head, not moving toward the sofa. He doubted she’d want to see him in such tight quarters just yet. “Perhaps she would go for a walk with me. It’s nice out now that the sun is down.”
Carina smiled warmly. “Why don’t you two sit out back? We have a sun porch. The weather is perfect. I’ll go get her.” She turned toward her husband. “Todd, would you show Gabriel to the back porch?”
Todd smiled, a mischievous grin that made Gabe swallow hard. Gabe followed the man through the kitchen and out the back door. “My wife told me only bits and pieces of what she could pull out of Kathleen. I don’t know the whole story, but I’ll just warn you that Kathleen is young and naïve and this is probably overwhelming to her. Just, take it easy on her. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
“You’re right, sir. I’m sure I just haven’t quite said the right things, but I want you to know my heart is in the right place. I will do right by your daughter, always.” His voice cracked as he spoke. He’d never been so nervous. The experience was far too human for him. Wolves didn’t usually face as many crises as this. Mates were destined most of the time. The usual formalities were overkill.
Todd grinned again and shook his head. He reentered the house mumbling, “Good luck.” The man knew his daughter. She was apparently as feisty with her family as she was with him, judging by their reactions.
Chapter Seven
Kathleen stepped outside with trepidation. She let the door shut behind her with a quiet snick. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself,” he whispered.
He looked worried, a crease between his eyes extended up to his forehead. His hands were jammed into his jeans pockets.
“Sorry I ran,” she muttered.
“Sorry I pushed you,” he added.
“I was . . . confused. This is all more than I ever expected.”
“I know. And I did a piss-poor job of explaining myself to you. I wanted you so bad and you smelled so fucking good. . ." He took a deep breath. “Sit with me?”
He asked. He didn’t demand. He asked.
She nodded consent and sat on the porch swing at the same time he did. He put his arm around her and pulled her against his huge chest. His T-shirt pulled tight over his pecs and she remembered what his bare chest was like and how she’d longed to stare at it for hours.
“I scared you.”
“Yes,” she admitted.
“I’m very dominant.”
“Yes,” she agreed with the same response.
“Does that worry you?”
“Uh huh.” She didn’t look at him. Instead she kept her gaze on her hands as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt. She was still wearing the same skirt and blouse from earlier, not wishing to part with the scent of Gabriel all over her clothes and body.
“Let me explain myself a little better. I know I came on strong. That was probably wrong of me in retrospect. You have no experience with either domination or sex for that matter. I threw you in to the wolves. Literally.” He chuckled, his chest vibrating. She adored the timbre of his deep laugh.
She tipped her head up and smiled. “Ha ha.”
“I can’t really apologize for my dominant methods. It’s just who I am. If
I thought it wouldn’t suit you at all, I would do everything in my power to change. But you have reacted to every move of mine with a level of submission I’m shocked to discover in a mate. So, that isn’t really the issue here.”
She bit her lower lip between her teeth. That’s for sure.
“I’m gonna go with your fear over your reaction to me and your insecurity about what that means for us long-term.”
She nodded. Hit it in one. Thank God she didn’t have to spell out her feelings for him. It would have been humiliating at best.
“So, let me reassure you about several things. First of all, I’m so totally going to push you sexually behind closed doors and occasionally even out in public, but not that anyone else would know.”
Her pussy clenched when he spoke and she hated that he would be able to smell her arousal. It seemed humiliating to find his words so fucking sexy.
He grasped her chin and tipped her head up to meet his gaze again. “Are you worried about losing yourself?”
“Yes,” she muttered.
“I would never let that happen. I promise. We will always have an open communication between us to ensure both our needs are being met. Okay?”
She furrowed her brow at him. She’d not really witnessed that so far.
“I haven’t made you feel like you could voice your opinion, have I?”
She shook her head, her chin still in the grip of his hand.
“I’m sorry.” He set his forehead against hers. “I guess I was so caught up in claiming you and so enamored with your body, I didn’t pause to consider your feelings. Please forgive me.”
She didn’t respond. He needed to prove himself.
“Let me take you out. Show you how polite I can be in the company of others.” He grinned. “It’s the only way I know to demonstrate my total devotion.”
It cost him to say those words. She saw it in his eyes. He meant it. This was new territory to him too.
“Okay.”
“Have you eaten?”
“No. I couldn’t have swallowed around the lump in my throat.” She smiled.
Dominated Page 8
